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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wake · pop · drill · race · roll · pitcher · bat · pound

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. pop — music
  4. race — humankind
  5. wake — a trail
  6. drill — the tool
  7. pound — a weight
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. race — a contest
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. drill — army training
  15. bat — the animal
  16. roll — a list
  17. drill — a practice
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. roll — a cake
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. race — the arms race
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — a jug

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com